By Derek Bonnett: As another fruitful year of professional fisticuffs wraps up, SecondsOut honored boxing’s greatest practitioners and non-participants with such accolades as Fighter of the Year, Fight of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Service to Boxing, etc. However, among the 170 ranked SecondsOut fighters and beyond, a multitude of fighters go unrecognized for their less obvious contributions to the sport inside of a single division.
By Derek Bonnett: As we encounter another new year, the landscape of the boxing scene continues to evolve. With old champions acting out the final stages of their careers and new ones emerging to fill the void, boxing maintains a state of homeostasis and keeps fight fans intrigued even amid the dubious officiating and cries of scandal.
By Mikko Salo: The most positive development in the heavyweight year 2013 was the crowning of an Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Wladimir Klitschko now holds both Championships that have true meaning in the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) and Ring Magazine Championships. Surefire first ballot hall of famer, the younger Klitschko continues to build his legacy as one of the all-time best.
Jhonny Gonzalez has always been an entertaining fighter, giving fans their money’s worth just about every time he laces them up. He’s tallied 55 wins in his career, 47 of them by knockout, but consistency has always been a problem.
By Derek Bonnett: The boxing calendar for 2013 presented copious opportunities for many of boxing’s best to shine and, hyperbole aside, they did shine. Determining the special practitioner of the Sweet Science to follow up Juan Manuel Marquez’ Fighter of the Year run in 2012 was no small task.
By Derek Gionta: "You have amazing power," Emanuel Steward once told Adonis Stevenson. The Haitian-born Montreal native introduced himself to the Kronk Gym and the late Steward in a big way. The light heavyweight southpaw, virtually unknown to many at the time, reportedly knocked out one or two guys in the famed Detroit-based boxing gym, leaving quite an impression on the Kronk crew.
By Mike Sloan: 2013 was a tremendous year for the sport of boxing. While it’ll unlikely go down in history ranked among the best calendar year ever – too many old dinosaurs holding on to the “glory days” will always scoff at anything that occurs past 1965 – this past year was remarkable.
By Jerry Glick: Bob Arum wins Secondsout’s Service to Boxing Award for 2013. Bob has made his mark in boxing starting some 47 years ago when, in 1966, he made a fateful career change from being an attorney to become a boxing promoter. As they say, the rest is history.
Billy Tibbs dishes out his unique boxing awards for 2013....
By Marc Livitz: There is no written rule anywhere in the pages of boxing which states that two fighters are required to engage in a brash war of words in the weeks and days leading up to their respective matchup. Although it can be noted that the running of the mouth never seriously hurts the promotion of a fight before the opening bells sounds, there are still those of us who are quite content to refer to a boxer’s resume as a far more favorable choice of words.
By Matthew Hurley:He’s a huge underdog and he knows it. Throughout the promotional buildup to his big opportunity against Manny Pacquiao on November 23, Brandon Rios has either been a bit overwhelmed by all the hoopla surrounding his first major event or pissed off at the disrespect he feels has been thrown his way since the bout was announced.
By Marc Livitz: Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan have taken separate paths over the last few years that have ultimately led them to the same destination. Six years have gone by since “The Filipino Flash” Donaire delivered a crushing counter left hook which tagged “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan squarely across the face and gave the boxing world a knockout to remember.
By Clive Bernath: At the age of 48 Bernard Hopkins will be defending his IBF light heavyweight title for the first time on Saturday night against mandatory challenger Karo Murat in the main event of a Showtime televised card at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
By Marc Livitz: Bernard Hopkins has been one of the most recognizable faces in boxing for the greater portion of the last two decades. His numerous championships, accolades and astounding ability to remain highly competitive while just south of the age of fifty are but a scant few examples of the legacy etched by the Philadelphia fighter.
By John Lumpkin: What counts as a hard punch? Is it simply the act of having the reputation as the harder puncher that compels judges to score a fighter’s shots higher? Is it the fact that punch was actually delivered?
By Jason Pribila: On Saturday night Floyd Mayweather Jr. again showed that his ring brilliance is showing no signs of slippage at the age of 36. Fighting for the second time in a calendar year against his most formidable foe in years gave even casual fans an excuse to open their wallets.
By Mike Sloan: Saturday night in Las Vegas was a sensational one for the sport of boxing, that part is unquestioned. The mega event between undisputed pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and Mexican superstar Saul Alvarez smashed live gate revenue records and premature numbers suggest that the Showtime-televised card might set the all-time pay-per-view mark.
By Mike Sloan: Ever since Saturday’s mega event concluded, a sizeable chunk of the boxing buzz has not been about Floyd Mayweather’s masterful performance against Canelo Alvarez or Danny Garcia’s upset win over Lucas Matthysse. Because it’s the sport of boxing, one of the hottest topics has been a negative one: the absolutely dreadful and mind-numbing 114-114 score turned in by CJ Ross for the Mayweather-Canelo fight.
By Clive Bernath: Keith Kizer, the head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission has defended female judge Cynthia ‘CJ’ Ross for scoring Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Saul Alvarez bout a draw when just about every person that witnessed the bout either LIVE or at home thought Mayweather had won handily.
By Steve Kim: Later this afternoon, Saul Alvarez will step onto the scales where he will have to come in at - or under -152 pounds. Despite being the unified light middleweight champion, he will not have the luxury of hitting the customary 154-pound limit like he usually does. It’s a concession they made for facing Floyd Mayweather and earning a career-high payday.